HDNet Will Broadcast 115th Monon Bell Classic

by Brent Harris • August 29, 2008
Share:

For the third consecutive year and fourth time in the past six seasons, HDNet will broadcast the Monon Bell Classic football game between Wabash College and DePauw University live to a national audience.

The 115th Monon Bell Classic will take place Saturday, November 15 at Hollett Little Giant Stadium on the Wabash College campus at 1:05 p.m. The Little Giants hold a 53-52-9 edge in the overall series.

"The Monon Bell Classic is one of the great college rivalries, and we look forward to working with DePauw and Wabash each fall," says Mark Cuban, president and co-founder of HDNet. "After 114 meetings, these two teams are separated by only one victory! As a college football fan, what more could you as for?"

HDNet is the first national television network broadcasting all of its programming in high definition.

"This is a great experience for our players that most other teams in country never get to experience," Wabash head coach Erik Raeburn said. "The atmosphere of having over 11,000 fans in the stadium and knowing that even more are watching on live television should be tremendous."

Raeburn is in his first season as the head coach at Wabash after serving eight years at Coe College.

"I am pleased that HDNet will once again be a part of the Monon Bell rivalry," Wabash Director of Athletics Tom Bambrey said. "Alumni from both schools who are unable to attend the game in person have told us over and over again how much they enjoy gathering across the country to watch the game."

"We're thrilled with both the quality of the presentation and the growing ubiquity of HDNet," says Ken Owen, executive director of media relations at DePauw. "Seeing the game in high definition is the next best thing to standing on the sidelines, and the three prior HDNet treatments of our rivalry game [in 2003, 2006 and 2007] received rave reviews. It's a great partnership."

Monon Bell telecast parties are already being planned for this year’s game. Last year alumni gathered in 55 locations to view the game on HDNet. Over 40 sites have already been set for this year with plans taking shape for additional viewing parties to be finalized in the coming weeks.

To receive the game on HDNet, viewers must have an HDTV and high-definition tuner box. Viewers must also subscribe to the highdefinition package offered by their cable or satellite provider. HDNet and HDNet Movies are available on Bright House Networks, Charter Communications, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Insight Communications, Mediacom Communications, Time Warner Cable and many National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) cable affiliate companies. Visit HDNet online by clicking here.

Joe Emmick ’92 will be back in the booth providing game analysis. Emmick has served as an announcer for all three previous HDNet telecasts. Veteran announcer Kenny Rice will anchor the broadcast. Rice recently served as an equestrian announcer for NBC at the Beijing Olympics and will be handling the play-by-play duties for his fourth Monon Bell Classic. The rest of the broadcast crew will be announced at a later date.